when I’d already given specific orders that I wanted you taken alive.’
‘Nice to know you care,’ said Eddie sarcastically.
‘Oh, I don’t. Not about you, at least.’ He looked across at Kit. ‘But Jindal and your wife are going to do something for me.’
‘What thing?’
Eddie hadn’t expected an answer, but his chances of getting even a hint fell to zero as Pachac and a couple of his men hurried down the stairway. ‘Stikes!’ shouted the terrorist leader excitedly. ‘It is here, it is here! The Punchaco!’
‘You found it?’ said Stikes.
Pachac ran to him. ‘Yes, yes! In the temple. It is – it is magnificent! And huge! Three metres high, at least.’
‘Over twice the size of the sun disc from Paititi, then,’ said Stikes thoughtfully. ‘At least four times the volume of gold.’
‘At least. And it is covered with gems, diamonds and emeralds and more!’
‘That should fund a revolution or two.’
Pachac’s enthusiasm dampened. ‘The Punchaco is the greatest symbol of my people. I cannot sell it – it would be a betrayal.’
‘What about the rest of the gold?’
‘There is no other gold,’ said the Peruvian. ‘Not that we have found.’
Stikes frowned. ‘That doesn’t seem likely. Since we’re standing in the heart of the legendary city of gold.’ He stood before Osterhagen. ‘You’re the expert, Dr Osterhagen – where’s the gold?’
The Punchaco is the only gold we have seen,’ said the German.
‘I find that difficult to believe.’
‘We haven’t had time to explore,’ Macy protested. ‘You got here right after we did.’
‘How did you get here so quick?’ Eddie demanded. ‘Only a few people knew exactly where we were going.’
A smug smile slithered on to Stikes’s face. ‘I have your father to thank for that.’
‘What?’
‘He called me after you threatened him in Bogotá. He was rather worried, but I assured him there wouldn’t be any problems.’ The smirk broadened. ‘He also told me that your wife was searching for El Dorado in Peru. And I knew someone with a lot of contacts here.’ He nodded at Pachac. ‘So I made a deal with Arcani, and he put the word out to his informants, his sympathisers, and most importantly his network of drug dealers to watch for a certain red-haired woman in charge of a team of foreigners. We knew that you’d arrived in Lima, we knew you spent last night in Chachapoyas, and we knew when you passed through the village down the road. But you didn’t reach the next village to the north, and there are only a handful of places you could possibly have turned off the road . . . so all Arcani’s people had to do was look for your tyre tracks. Simple.’
Eddie held in the surge of rage he felt towards his father, focusing it on more immediate targets. ‘So you’re in this for the gold? You might have a problem getting your cut if your new mate here doesn’t want to sell it.’
Stikes laughed. ‘I don’t want gold, Chase! Who am I, Mr T? No, the deal was that apart from enough to pay my men all they’re owed, plus a bonus, Pachac can keep everything that he finds here . . . except for the three statues your wife is so interested in.’
Eddie reacted with surprise – but noticed that, if anything, Kit seemed even more shocked. ‘What the hell do you want those for? They’re just bits of stone.’
‘We both know that’s not true.’ Stikes turned as Voeker and Cagg returned. ‘Well?’
‘She’s not there,’ said Cagg. ‘But there were some tracks in the dust. Looks like she went down the hill.’
Stikes whirled, staring towards the shaft. ‘Damn it! We can’t let her get away – Baine, make sure she doesn’t get out of the cave. Do not kill her; I need her alive.’ Baine raised his M4, which was fitted with a telescopic sight, and ran to the end of the plaza. The mercenary leader addressed his other men. ‘The rest of you, spread out and find her. We need to find the statues too. Where are they, Chase?’
‘How the fuck would I know?’ Eddie replied as the black-clad men dispersed. ‘I was down at the bottom trying to stop you arseholes from getting in.’
Stikes sighed and drew his gun again, pressing it against Macy’s head. ‘We’re not going to have to go through this rigmarole again, are we?’
Osterhagen spoke up. ‘Leave her alone. The statues are with our equipment, outside the temple.’
‘Show me,’ said Stikes. ‘Arcani, tell your men to guard the others . .